Washington (CNN) - The Obama administration released two documents on Friday describing the scope of National Security Agency data collection programs, a bid to quiet criticism they violate privacy rights.

An NSA memorandum describes the beginnings of the agency's collection of so-called telephone metadata of nearly every American under a provision of the Patriot Act, and the agency's monitoring of foreign Internet traffic.

(CNN) - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host a fundraiser next month for longtime family friend and Democratic candidate for Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, a source familiar with the event confirmed to CNN Friday.

The event is scheduled to be held at Clinton's home in Washington, said the source, who spoke anonymously since the fundraiser is considered a private event.FULL POST

(CNN) – Maine's Republican governor is making headlines again for his sense of humor.

Paul LePage, who used a crude sexual reference to describe a Democratic state lawmaker in June, joked Friday he wanted to blow up the headquarters of the Portland Press Herald, one of his state's most-read newspapers.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – The days of short responses and single questions are long gone.

CNN's quick look at Friday's presidential news conference shows a handful of reporters trying to cram in as many topics and queries as possible pitted against a president whose answers rival the length of some Pink Floyd songs.FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for August 9, 2013 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

'I'M GOING TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS': OBAMA ANNOUNCES SURVEILLANCE CHANGES… President Barack Obama said at a news conference that he's taking steps to improve public confidence in national security surveillance. These include working with Congress to pursue appropriate improvements of the telephone surveillance program; reforming the secret court that approves that initiative; improving transparency to provide as much information as possible to the public; and appointing a high-level, independent group of outside experts to review surveillance technologies.

DEMOCRATIC SEN. MARK UDALL OF COLORADO IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT: “This is an important first step — but I will keep fighting to ensure it's not the Administration's last in this direction. The administration must do a better job balancing our national security with our constitutional privacy rights.”REPUBLICAN REP. PETER KING OF NEW YORK IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT: “The President’s announcement today that he will pursue ‘reforms’ to National Security Agency counterterrorism programs is a monumental failure in presidential wartime leadership and responsibility.”

Taking calls in his home state on Nevada's public radio station KNPR, Reid confidently said the math was hard for Senate Republicans to flip control of the chamber, when asked if Democrats could lose their majority in 2014.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Before heading to Martha's Vineyard for a week-long family vacation, President Barack Obama took questions Friday from reporters at the White House.

He hadn't held a formal, solo press conference since April 30 - and topics ranging from the economy to government surveillance to terror threats arose at Friday's question and answer session.

The president also announced new measures to instill greater transparency in the government snooping programs that were revealed earlier this summer, which critics said amounted to massive federal overreach.